Middle East Near You

Amelia Smith

Amelia Smith is a writer and journalist based in London who has reported from across the Middle East and North Africa. In 2016 Amelia was a finalist at the Write Stuff writing competition at the London Book Fair. Her first book, “The Arab Spring Five Years On”, was published in 2016 and brings together a collection of authors who analyse the protests and their aftermath half a decade after they flared in the region.

Amelia Smith interviews Aayah Khalaf, the daughter of Ola Al-Qaradawi and Hosam Khalaf who have been detained for nearly a year in Egypt. Ola is the daughter of the exiled Egyptian scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

In 2016 UK investments in Egypt topped $30 billion. Instead of using their influence to force Egypt to behave, the UK has awarded Sisi with $500,000 of investment for every Egyptian locked up for pro-democracy protests.